CVE-2025-22176 is an improper authorization vulnerability identified in Atlassian Jira Align, a product used for enterprise agile planning and portfolio management. The vulnerability allows a user with low privileges—who normally should have restricted access—to reach unexpected API endpoints or UI components that disclose sensitive information, such as audit log entries. Audit logs typically contain records of user activities, system changes, and security events, which can be leveraged by attackers to understand system configurations, user behaviors, or identify further attack vectors. The affected versions include all releases from 11.14.0 onwards, indicating the issue was introduced or remained unpatched in multiple recent versions. The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required beyond low-level user (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and limited confidentiality impact (VC:L) with no impact on integrity or availability. This means an attacker with legitimate low-level access can exploit the flaw remotely without additional interaction. Although the vulnerability does not allow direct system compromise or data modification, unauthorized access to audit logs can facilitate lateral movement, privilege escalation attempts, or targeted attacks by revealing internal processes and security events. No public exploits are known at this time, but the presence of sensitive information leakage warrants timely remediation. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-285 (Improper Authorization), emphasizing that access control mechanisms failed to correctly restrict user permissions. Atlassian has not yet published patches or mitigation details, so organizations must monitor for updates and consider interim controls.

For European organizations, the unauthorized disclosure of audit logs through this vulnerability can have several impacts. Audit logs often contain sensitive operational and security information, including user actions, system changes, and potentially personally identifiable information (PII). Exposure of such data can aid attackers in mapping internal workflows, identifying privileged accounts, or uncovering security controls, increasing the risk of subsequent targeted attacks or insider threats. Organizations in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government may face compliance risks if audit data confidentiality is compromised, potentially violating GDPR or other data protection regulations. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect system integrity or availability, the indirect consequences of information leakage can lead to reputational damage and increased incident response costs. Since Jira Align is used for agile project and portfolio management, unauthorized access to audit logs could reveal sensitive project timelines, resource allocations, or strategic decisions, impacting competitive advantage. The medium severity rating suggests the threat is moderate but should not be underestimated, especially in environments where Jira Align is integrated with other critical systems. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the need for proactive mitigation.

1. Monitor Atlassian’s official channels for patches addressing CVE-2025-22176 and apply updates promptly once available. 2. Until patches are released, restrict Jira Align access to trusted users only, minimizing the number of low-privilege accounts with system access. 3. Implement network segmentation and firewall rules to limit external and internal access to Jira Align endpoints, reducing exposure to unauthorized users. 4. Review and tighten role-based access controls (RBAC) within Jira Align to ensure users have the minimum necessary permissions, particularly scrutinizing low-privilege roles. 5. Enable and monitor audit logging on Jira Align itself and related infrastructure to detect unusual access patterns or attempts to access sensitive endpoints. 6. Conduct internal security assessments and penetration tests focusing on authorization controls to identify similar weaknesses. 7. Educate administrators and users about the risks of improper authorization and encourage reporting of suspicious activities. 8. Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block anomalous requests targeting sensitive endpoints. 9. If feasible, isolate Jira Align instances handling sensitive projects or data to reduce potential impact. 10. Maintain an incident response plan that includes procedures for handling information disclosure incidents involving audit logs.